Coalition of Federal Unions Weighs In With 'Super Committee' to Defend Federal Workforce

Washington,
D.C. –
The Federal Workers
Alliance, a coalition of 22 unions collectively
representing over 300,000
federal workers government-wide, are working to
defend the federal workforce
from irresponsible cuts in the forthcoming
congressional ‘super committee’
negotiations.

The
initial cuts outlined in phase 1 of the debt
ceiling agreement stand to slash
hundreds of billions of dollars from federal
budgets over the next decade. When
the super committee convened for its first
public hearing yesterday, the
process of identifying an additional $1.2
trillion in cuts began, leaving
federal services and the employees who provide
them with a very uncertain
future. With various proposals targeting
federal workers already swirling
around Capitol Hill, the FWA stands ready to
defend America’s dedicated public
servants.

“Federal
workers provide invaluable services to the
American people every day, and they
do it at a tremendous value to the American
taxpayer,” said FWA Chairman
William R. Dougan. “They are the dedicated
men and women that care for our
veterans, inspect our food, maintain our
military readiness, and defend our
borders. Slashing billions more will cripple
these vital services and do far
more damage than good. Federal workers have
already sacrificed with a two-year
pay freeze and drastically reduced agency
budgets. Piling on billions more in
cuts will lower morale, stifle federal
services, and present a logistical
nightmare for federal agencies. It is essential
that committee members
understand
that.”

“Federal
workers are not going to sit on the sidelines
while their jobs and retirement
security are up for grabs,” said Dougan.
“There is simply too much at stake. We
are asking committee members to stand with our
nation’s federal employees and
make certain they don’t lose the resources
they need to keep our promises to
the American
people.”